Copycat
by ReidxMexLikexAxBook
Summary: Sequel to "Kiss of Death." Ethan had hid more secrets than Spencer had thought. Ethan Madison, killed by Shelby Scott, left behind two children, Jessica and Jamie. Now that their mother, Courtney was arrested, it's Spencer's job to take care of them. Three years later, a Shelby Scott copycat starts killing. Same signature and style of killing, but a whole new motivation.
1. Chapter 1

With a wedding to plan, Dr. Spencer Reid didn't believe life could get any more frustrated. That was before.

This is now.

It all started when his doorbell was rung at noon at what was supposed to be his day off. With a sigh, Nathalie goes to answer the door and comes back with two policemen. One of which looks vaguely familiar.

"Dr. Spencer Reid?" The older one asks.

"Yes, can I help you?"  
"We have Jessica and Jamie down at the station. They flew in after their mother was arrested yesterday." The old one says.

"I don't know them." Spencer says confused.

"They're your god-children. Jessica and Jamie Madison. Didn't you know Ethan Madison, or his wife, Courtney Madison?" the younger officer says, just as confused as Spencer.

"Ethan never had kids. He was my brother, I would've known." Nathalie says.

"Well, they are his kids. 'Spencer Reid' is signed as God-father, and they have no one to look after them." The older one says, informing them of the issue as if they don't already see it.

Spencer takes a seat on the couch, his head spinning. Numbers, facts, and memories cloud his head as he tries to make sense of it all. Yes, Courtney and Ethan had dated. But she had to move away, and then…Ethan didn't join the FBI with Spencer like they had planned. But Ethan said music was his career instead….When did they get married?

"How old are they?" Spencer asks. Nathalie was currently arguing that there was some mistake, but she stops at his question.

"Jessica is thirteen, Jamie is eleven." The old cop says after looking down at a file in his hands. All the pieces click together.

"Ethan didn't go through with FBI training because Courtney was pregnant." Spencer says to Nathalie. He watches as it all comes to make sense in Nat's head.

"I'm an aunt and that bastard never told me?" Nat says finally. The two officers keep quiet and watch as the young couple in front of them are trying to understand something so absurd.

In the spur of the moment, Spencer starts laughing. Three sets of surprised eyes stare at him uneasily.

"Ethan, always full of surprises. Even when he's dead."

Spencer and Nathalie are left with no choice but to go to the station and get the kids. Two strangers are to come live with them. Once inside, Spencer quickly spots the two children. The girl couldn't be anymore different from her brother. Her aura seems to send of rays of asperity while her brother's aura seemed to give off a sense of helplessness. The girl's corn-silk hair covered her face and the boy's shaggy dark hair seemed to serve as a shield to keep him away from the world. They reminded Spencer of the younger version of Ethan and Nathalie.

"Jessica, Jamie?" The younger officer asks.

They both look up, their eyes identical, freaky shades of blue.

"You're Spencer." The boy says. "Dad had pictures of you."

"Yeah, this is Nathalie. She's your aunt; your dad was her brother." Spencer explains. The girl seems to be sizing both him and Nathalie up as if they were threats.

"How about we go get your stuff?" The young officer asks. Spencer follows him in the back to find about seven duffel bags, over filling with stuff.

_I'm going to need a bigger house, _Spencer thinks.

After everything is loaded into Spencer's car, the kids stare at the ground awkwardly.

"Thanks." Spencer says to the young officer, who stands next to him.

"Anything, Dr. Reid." He says with a grin.

"You were at one of my lectures." Spencer says, now picturing why the officer was familiar.

He nods and shakes his hand before walking inside.

"Doctor?" Jessica questions a little anxiously.

"I have 3 PhDs. I'm not a medical doctor. I work at the Behavior Analysis Unit with the FBI." Spencer explains. Jessica seems to instantly relax, which makes Spencer wonder why she hates doctors.

"What do you do?" Jessica asks, turning to Nathalie.

"I have a record deal, thanks to your father." Nathalie says blushing. Spencer doesn't bother correcting that she did it all on her own, but he was sure thinking it.

With nothing more to say, Jessica gets in the backseat. Jamie runs a shaky hand through his hair before sliding in next to her.

Once at the house, Nathalie makes lunch for the kids. Jessica stares at the food, but chooses not to eat it. Jamie on the other hand, digs right in.

"There is a big guest room and a smaller room. We'll work on finding a bigger house this week." Spencer says.

"Don't bother." Jessica says sourly.

"Excuse me?"

"Our Mom will come get us as soon as she gets out of jail, so don't bother."

Before Spencer could think of a nice way to explain how that would never happen, Jamie cuts in.

"Mom doesn't want us." His blue eyes shine in a way that seems lethal.

"No, she just doesn't want you. There's a difference, Jamie." Jessica says.

"Shut up, Jess. At least I can accept that she hates us." Jamie says. Jessica's eyes burn with anger as she hurries off to another room.

Spencer's phone rings and Nathalie avoids looking at him. She knows what that call means.

She is proved right when Spencer says "Ok, J.J. I'll get there soon."

"I'm sorry." Spencer says, putting an arm around Nathalie.

"It's fine. Go save someone." She says, grinning.

"Love you." He says, giving her a light kiss. Both of them are aware of Jamie's watchful eyes, but he doesn't say anything.

"Be safe." Nat calls after him.


	2. Chapter 2

3 years later

"What do we have?" Hotch asks, sitting down with the rest of the team.

"Not sure." Rossi says, looking down at his files.

J.J. clicks the remote and a gruesome picture fills the screen. A woman in her twenties is lying in the middle of an alley, a bullet to the head. What really makes Spencer's blood run cold is the kiss outline on the woman's cheek.

"This is Wendy Collins. Shot to the head with a .22 and kiss outline on the left cheek. In Las Vegas. Sound familiar?"

"But Shelby Scott killed men in their late twenties. This is a female, only twenty-two." Rossi says.

"An improvising copycat?" Prentiss suggests.  
Clicking the button again, the screen is changed to see another dead woman, same shot to the head and kiss mark.

"Second victim is Chelsea Bryant. Same death, dark alley, kiss outline on left cheek. Both women are twenty-two, and have similar features; blonde with blue eyes." J.J. says.

"This killer has a specific type. Why?" Morgan questions.

"This time, they are actually killed in the alleys." Hotch notices, blood spatter evidence to that.

"Any defensive wounds?" Spencer asks.

"No. It seems like they both went into the alley willingly or were subdued. There was blood-force trauma to the head." J.J. says. "There's another thing. Each woman had a note left with her and they were found in two of Shelby Scott's dump sites."

"What do the notes say?" Morgan asks, a smirk appearing. Every time someone leaves something behind, they get linked to it.

"We're not sure." J.J. says, clicking the remote to the next picture.

It was a zoomed in picture of a letter, clearly written in lipstick. It wasn't a letter of words though, it was a letter of numbers. About twenty numbers, some separated by hyphens, others by large spaces.

"The alphabet in numbers?" Rossi guesses.

Reid shakes his head. "They use the numbers 1-30. It could symbol a different language entirely. Or a code the UnSub just made up."

"Can you try to crack it?" Hotch asks. Spencer barely resists groaning.

"Hotch, that could take forever. Their alphabet may take more letters that 30, they just may not have needed to use any other higher letters. They might not even be code for letters." Spencer says, explaining calmly.

"I know, Reid. But it's worth a try, and if anyone can crack it, it'll be you. Everyone, wheels up in ten."

On the plane, Spencer goes over the code in Croatian. Of course, it doesn't make sense.

"When we land, Morgan and Prentiss, check out first scene. Rossi and I will check the second. J.J., and Reid, get set up at the station."

Spencer frowns and glances at J.J. She is glancing down over the file, unaware of Spencer's silent tantrum. His head was aching from arguing with Jess and he really didn't want to think more than he had to.

Pulling out his phone, Spencer walks to the back of the plane.

"Nathalie Reid." Nat's musical voice answers. Her voice sounds as if she was smiling, which made Spencer's mood brighten.

"Hey, Nat. We just left on a case. I won't be home tonight." Spencer says quietly so the others don't eavesdrop.

"How's the head?" Nat asks with a laugh.

"Terrible. Have fun tonight." Spencer tells his wife sarcastically. Jess and Jamie bicker non-stop. Jess keeps arguing with her godparents that she wants a big birthday party for her seventeenth birthday that is coming up in a few months. She won't seem to take a 'maybe' as an answer.

"Will you call tonight? I'm going to miss you."

"Yeah, I will." Spencer promises. Getting married and taking in Ethan's kids made leaving on the job about fifty times harder.

"I love you, Spence. Be safe." Nathalie says, her voice serious.

"Love you too, call you later." He mumbles. Morgan doesn't need anything to laugh about. Morgan and Prentiss always tease him about being attached to Nathalie, and he always ignores them.

Shutting his phone, he walks back to his seat, aware of everyone's eyes on him. He takes a seat and pretends to work out the code while he thinks back to how life has changed.

*****Flashback*****

"How are they adjusting?" Spencer asks as soon as he gets home from his first case after moving and everything. Nathalie had to take care of Jess and Jamie for four whole days by herself. Not to mention getting used to the new house.

"They're….adjusting." Nat says at a loss for words. "I never know if what I'm saying is the right thing."

"I'm sure it is." Spencer says. The flight was long, and he checks the time: two a.m.

Of course Nathalie stayed up waiting for him.

Leaving their messy yet organized bedroom, he quietly walks down the hall. Creaking the door to Jamie's room open, he holds his breath. Waking the poor kid wasn't his intention.

Jamie doesn't wake, he just rolls over. Satisfied, Spencer goes on to check on Jess.

Her door isn't nearly as creaky and it swings open silently. His heart momentarily stops when he notices that Jess isn't in her bed.

The sound of crying is coming from somewhere in the room. He looks everywhere and finally looks to the closet.

He opens the door quickly to find Jess, sitting in the small closet, crying.

"Jessica?" He says gently, kneeling down to her curled up form.

She looks up at his eyes for a moment, then crawls out.

As he debates what to say, Jess surprises him by throwing her arms around his waist and crying into his chest.

"Everything's okay." He says, trying to soothe her.

"I know." She says.

"Then why are you crying in your closet?" Spencer asks with a nervous laugh.

"I miss…everyone. My friends, my dad, and…even my mom no matter how much I thought I hated her. Things are just too different." She cries.

He leads her to the bed where he makes her sit.

"I'm sorry this has to be so hard." He says.

"It's all my fault… I could have-"

"No." Spencer says. The authority in his voice surprises them both. "None of this is your fault."

Jess hugs Spencer and thanks him. Before then, she had only been defiant and strong willed. This was the first time she showed real emotion to anyone.

****End of Flashback*****

Staring down at the code, Spencer comforts himself. They are going to solve this case. They have to- his has a family to get back to.


	3. Chapter 3

The team finally lands in Las Vegas, Nevada. Immediately, they head off to get started.

Morgan looks around the alley, the same way he had years ago when they worked the Shelby Scott case. Prentiss checks the blood spatter and stands in the spot Wendy Collins stood right before she was shot.

"Okay, so this must be a female. The lipstick, the need to perfect…"

"I'm the UnSub, your Wendy." Morgan says. "I used a .22, chose a secluded alley, but what am I accomplishing by killing _you_?"

"Well, Shelby Scott thought she was helping women by killing men. Maybe this UnSub thinks killing these women will help someone." Prentiss thinks.

"Maybe they did something or acted in some way to remind the UnSub of someone else."

"If it was that, why would they imitate Shelby Scott? Why the kiss and the notes?"

"Shelby Scott's murders were publicized. Maybe the UnSub was fascinated by it and wanted to prove her own smarts."

"What if the UnSub knew Shelby and wanted to pass her up?" Prentiss suggests, her dark hair whipping in the wind.

"Typical female logic," Morgan taunts. "I guess when Reid figures out the code we'll understand it."

"Is the UnSub organized or messy?" Rossi asks, looking at the splattered blood.

"The UnSub wants attention because of the note. Didn't leave anything behind. I guess she's organized."

"Are we sure it's a woman?"

"The lipstick, girly writing, and mimicking a female murderer. It sure seems that way." Hotch says.

"Or it's a smart man, trying to confuse the police."

"That's highly unlikely." Hotch says.

"Just trying my theories." Rossi says, knowing how ridiculous he statement was.

At the station, Spencer pins up the pictures of Wendy Collins and Chelsea Bryant. Something nags in his head and he forces himself to look closer.

"J.J., these girls look like Shelby Scott." Spencer says suddenly. J.J. swings towards him and squints. She looks through a pile for Shelby's photo and compares.

"Not really…" She says skeptically.

"Small things. Wendy's facial structure, Chelsea's eyes have the same shape, along with her lips." Spencer says, his mind flashing back to when Shelby Scott held a gun to him. He could see it clearly.

He draws a profile starter and adds things: smart, organized, 20s-30s, female.

"I really wish she just gave us a note the normal way." J.J. says, staring down at the numbers.

He shakes his head. "This is more than what we're seeing." He says to himself. J.J. shrugs, completely lost.

"She's killing women like Shelby Scott. What if she was a past victim's family member, wanting revenge on Shelby?" Spencer says.

J.J. doesn't say anything, thinking it over first. Finally, she answers, "We need to figure out the code first."

Spencer nods a little disappointed and sits down in his comfortable seat. He tries numbering Spanish alphabet, and strikes out again. He even tries the ancient Roman alphabet. Still, nothing.

The others all come back, frustrated.

"Do you think you can figure out the code?" Hotch asks.  
"I don't know. It could literally be _anything_."

Shaking his head, he tries the German alphabet as J.J. tells the team of Spencer's earlier theory.

While everyone mulls it over, Spencer's phone rings. He flips it open, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Spencer?" Nathalie's voice says panicked on the other end.

"What's wrong?" He answers, her having his full attention.

"Jessica. I can't find her!"

"What do you mean?" Spencer asks, his heart race rising.

"She was in her room! Now she's…just…not there!" Nathalie says, close to tears. Jamie and I have tried calling, and I called the police to file a missing persons.

"She could have just snuck out." Spencer reasons.

"I just don't know!" Now, Nathalie was in tears, and Spencer was in full panic mode.

"How did she seem this morning?"

"Fine. Sulky and moody, the usual."

Unsure of what to say, he flips his phone shut. He couldn't possibly bear listening to anymore. He immediately tries Jess's phone, but he gets the voicemail.

"Jess, please let us know if you're alright." He begs. He shuts it and looks up at his team.

"What's going on?" Prentiss asks.

"Jessica is gone."


	4. Chapter 4

Spencer tries not to freak out, but that is inevitable in this kind of situation.

"She's sixteen. She could have just snuck out, like you said." J.J. says to calm him down. He nods and looks down at his watch.

"What girl sneaks out at three o'clock?" Spencer asks aloud after taking the time difference into consideration.

"A girl who wants to go to parties." Prentiss says, not worried at all. Her negligence calms Spencer down a little bit.

He nods and looks at the code. Jessica is a teenage girl. He's trying to force himself not to be upset. That behavior is to be expected, right?

"This UnSub is definitely smart. I'm guessing a college student from around here." Morgan says, trying to get back to the case.

Hotch stares intently at Spencer, trying to see if he can think on the case.

"Good guess. I'll have Garcia check college students with an IQ above 160." Spencer says, aware of Hotch keeping an eye on him.

He didn't have to call Garcia though, her face popped up on screen. Her hair was dyed red, which made them all stare for a moment.

"You like?" She asks, a mischievous smile on her lips, her comment aimed for Morgan, the one she was sure would say something flattering.

"Absolutely. Now you got the hair to match that attitude." Morgan says, not disappointing Garcia's expectations.

"Garcia, check college students in the area, IQ's higher that 160." Hotch says. Rossi looks down at the code over Spencer's shoulder as if he could figure it out.

"You've got it. Anything else to narrow it down?" Garcia asks, typing.

"Female." Hotch offers. Garcia nods, then the screen goes black.

About four hours later, the team had checked out 20 college students in the immediate area and Spencer had tried all foreign languages on the code, needing the help of the computer to search them all.

"Let's go check into a hotel and think about things." Hotch says, though they all know what they needed. In order for them to find this UnSub, they need her to make a mistake. Meaning, someone else had to die.


	5. Chapter 5

The team had reserved rooms at The Paris Hotel, the same hotel they had stayed at last time. As they enter the lobby, everyone looks around, amazed by it's beauty. Even Spencer, who grew up in Las Vegas, still gets amazed by it's looks.

"Spencer?" A voice says. All of their eyes move to the voice's location, and Spencer temporarily goes brain dead. A first for him.

"Jessica?" Prentiss says, recovering before the others.

"What are you doing here?" Spencer says, his hand immediately reaching for his phone to call Nathalie.

Jess hurries to Spencer and snatches his phone. "Don't call Nathalie. Please. I just couldn't stay there." She says, trying to come up with a good excuse.

"I'm going to call Nathalie. Her and Jamie are flipping out, looking for you." Spencer says, trying not to yell at her in front of his team.

"Please don't be mad, Spencer." She begs, her blue eyes pleading.

"How did you get here?" Hotch asks.

She looks at the ground and pulls something out of her pocket.

"You stole Nathalie's credit card?" Spencer says, taking it from her.

"I had to get away. And she told us you were going to Vegas on a case. Please, let me stay."

"I'm here investigating a _murder _case. Meaning there is a murderer running around here. No, you can't stay." Spencer says. He grabs his phone back and dials Nathalie.

He walks away from the group as the phone rings.

"Spencer?" Nathalie answers.

"Jessica is here in Vegas. She was waiting for me at my hotel." He says.

"How on Earth did she get to Vegas?" Nat asks, raising her voice.

"She stole your credit card."

"Oh my god!" Nathalie says in frustration. "I just can't do this whole parenting thing!"

"Yes, we can. She'll stay here until the case is over." Spencer says, surprising himself. Nathalie needs a break and so does Jess.

After Nat agrees, he snaps his phone shut and goes back to Jess.

"You can stay. But you are not allowed to leave the hotel room. Never." Spencer stresses.

"Ok." She agrees, trying to hide her grin.

"You're paying us back the plane money, one way or the other." He says.

She nods and follows him to the front desk.

"I need another room." Spencer says to the clerk.

"I'm sorry, we're full." The clerk says.

With a sigh, he gets his card and heads to his room, Jessica in tow.

Jess takes a seat in a chair awkwardly and watches him take out the code. He paces the room, trying to decide what to do.  
"As soon as we get back, you're grounded." He says.

She nods as if that much was obvious.

"What was so bad you had to come here?" He asks. She hesitates for a moment.

"My boyfriend broke up with me." She stares at the floor, her face turning red.

"Boyfriend?" He says, stopping his pacing. How had Nathalie and himself never known about a boyfriend?

"Cameron and I had been dating for a few months." She says sheepishly.

He shakes his head, not getting why getting on a plane to Vegas was the answer to her boyfriend problem.

A knock at the door sounds and he answers it, expecting Hotch. Instead, it's Rossi.

"Sorry to barge in." He says, barging in.

Spencer stays silent, waiting for him to explain why he's here.

"She can't stay. She could become a victim." Rossi says.

"She won't leave the room." Spencer says.

He raises an eyebrow and looks at Jessica.

"She's sixteen. This is Las Vegas. You can't be sure about that." Rossi argues.

"I won't." Jess says in her defense. "This is where my dad got killed, I'm not stupid. I know this place is dangerous."

Rossi responds by giving Jess a strong glare. "You're a child. Vegas isn't the place for you."

"Rossi, thanks for stopping by." Spencer says hastily and opens the door.

Thankfully, Rossi takes the hint that this isn't his battle and leaves. Probably to report everything to Hotchner like a little kid.

In J.J.'s room, Morgan and Prentiss sit beside her on the huge bed and talk about the case.

"This isn't…the usual case." Prentiss says.

"There is no such thing as a usual serial killer." Morgan says, shaking his head.

"That's not….what I meant was-" Prentiss stutters.

"We know." J.J. sympathizes. "I don't mean to put pressure on Reid, but we really need to know what the code is."

Morgan and Prentiss both watch J.J. as she starts pacing.

"What if Reid is right, though? Maybe the UnSub is killing women who look like Shelby Scott. The age would make sense, Shelby was in her twenties."

"Tomorrow we'll go back to the families of Shelby's victims." Prentiss offers.

"What do we do about Reid?" Morgan mumbles to himself. "His goddaughter isn't helping this."

"As long as Reid focuses, he'll be alright." J.J. says.

"Let's get some sleep. We'll need it." Prentiss says, getting up. Morgan pauses for a moment, then follows.

"Hey, Emily." He says in the hallway.

"Hmm?" She says, reaching for her room's card.

"Does J.J. seem a little…stressed? Like, more than the usual?" Morgan asks, glancing behind him to make sure her room's door is shut.

"Maybe something's going on at home." She says with a shrug. "Just give her space."

After Jessica falls asleep on the big bed, Spencer sits in the chair next to the window and stares down at the code.

_This is impossible, _he thinks to himself.

He gets to work, trying all kinds of combinations, using numbers and shapes. He tries to figure out if they were numbers on a lock, but that theory isn't possible. Soon enough, he falls asleep.

Jessica wakes up at around three in the morning, her dreams haunting her. She glances around the room, her breathing unsteady. She finds Spencer sitting in the chair, crumbled up paper surrounding him. As quietly as she can, she walks over. She looks down at the papers, seeing foreign words and scribbles. One particular paper has survived Spencer's destruction and lays perfectly on the windowsill next to him.

Knowing it must be important, she picks it up and studies it. Numbers, in some odd order. She finds a spare piece of paper from Spencer's piles and copies the numbers down quickly. She places the original copy back in place and hides the new copy under the bed's mattress.

"Jess?" Spencer's groggy voice asks as she crawls back in bed.

"Yeah?" She answers, making her voice just as tired.

"Never mind…." He says. Almost instantly, he falls back asleep and Jess smiles to herself.

_I'll prove that I'm smart, _she thinks to herself, _I'll figure out what these numbers mean._


	6. Chapter 6

In the morning, Spencer wakes up, his whole body uncomfortable and stiff. He gathers the papers scattered around him and throws the others away. Jess stirs, but doesn't wake up as he gets ready for the long day ahead. With nothing left to do, he sighs and walks towards her.

"Jess?" He says gently. Her eye flutter open and she pushes her blonde hair out of her face.

"Hmm?" She says. She looks around, trying to remember where she is. _Right, _she thinks, _I'm in Vegas._

"I'm heading out. Remember, don't leave this room. Order room service and be good." He says, praying she'd listen to him for once.

She nods and gets out of bed. Before he leaves, she gives him a hug.

"Bye Uncle Spencer." She says, using the word 'uncle' because she knows he hates it. He flinches at the word, which makes her smile.

While the team waits for Reid in the lobby, everyone grabs a quick breakfast of coffee and muffins. Prentiss gets Reid a big cup of black coffee with two packets of sugar, knowing he'll need it if he's going to figure out the code.

As if on cue, he appears, looking as disheveled as ever.

"Here, Reid." Prentiss says, handing him the coffee. He nods his thanks and downs a big gulp.

"How's Jessica?" Hotch asks.

"She'll stay in her room." Spencer answers, knowing that's the answer he was prying for.

"Good." Rossi says, his disapproval in the matter obvious.

"For today, J.J. and Reid, check out Wendy and Chelsea's homes, Morgan and I will visit Shelby Scott's victims' families, Rossi and Prentiss, check out the places Wendy Collins and Chelsea Bryant worked at. See if anyone held any grudges." Hotch ordered. Everyone nods and Hotch could see the confusion on J.J. and Reid.

"I think you both need time away from the code and the media. It may clear your heads and help." Hotch explains. They nod and split up, coffees in hand.

As they pull up to Wendy Collin's house, J.J. and Reid take a gulp of coffee, preparing themselves.

"Wendy's roommate has been staying at a friends house so she doesn't interfere with the investigation." J.J. tells Spencer.

They head inside and look around at the place.

"Did Wendy's parents have money?" Spencer wonders, looking around at the place. Black leather furniture and spotless carpets. J.J. nods, her eyes taking the place in. The only signs that college students live there is the clothes carelessly thrown around and cups laying around.

They find Wendy's bedroom and start looking through the mess. This girl was definitely not a neat-freak. Clothes, books, and hair appliances are thrown about.

"This is what Jessica's room looks like." Spencer says with an amused smile.

"My college dorm was worse." J.J. says. "Ah, memories…."

They start taking things in, learning about Wendy's life.

"She loved reading. Here's a library card." J.J. says. The book shelf and half read books everywhere had already led them in that direction.

"She liked horrible music." Spencer comments, looking through some Cds.

"She had been studying literature." J.J. says, looking at Wendy's class schedule that had been taped on the wall.

"Good choice." Spencer mutters.

"I don't think this is helping us." J.J. says. She isn't really the investigator type, more of the media management.

"Let's go see Chelsea Bryant's apartment." Spencer says with a nod in agreement.

As they get in the car, Spencer glances sideways at J.J.

"Are you ok?" He asks.

"Yeah. Why?" She says tightly.

"You seem…up tight." He says lamely.

"It's nothing." She lies.

"Tell me." He argues.

With a sigh, she gives. She rests her head against the passenger side's window.

"A friend of mine committed suicide." J.J. says. Spencer stays quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"She had tried calling me a few days before. I didn't answer…" She says, her voice becoming wobbly.  
"It's not your fault. Over half of the population of people who commit suicide-" Spencer starts.

"I get it." J.J. says, not wanted to hear any statistics.

"I'm sorry she died. Why didn't you take a few days off?" He says, trying not to push her emotions too far.

"Because…I didn't want to be with Will while I was so moody."

"So we get the best of you…" Spencer jokes. J.J. cracks a smile and sips her coffee.

Everyone meets back up at the station an hour later, not having any luck.

"Reid, can we talk?" Hotch asks. Nodding, Spencer follows him to an empty room.

"What is it?" Spencer asks, expecting it to be something about Jessica.

"Where is Courtney Madison?" Hotch asks. It kind of shocks Spencer for a moment, but then he answers.

"Prison in New Orleans for drug possession…" He says.

"No, she's not. I had Garcia check since we were checking families. Courtney got out of jail, then disappeared six months ago." Hotch says.

The information processes through Spencer's head, but he isn't able to grasp the news.

"She just…disappeared?" He asks finally.

"She got a job at a coffee shop in New Orleans for a while, then vanished."

Spencer was unsure of how to feel. Worried that Jess and Jamie's mother was gone? Or relieved she wouldn't try to take them back? Worried she was doing something bad? Or did something bad happen to her?

To care about her, or try and forget her completely?


	7. Chapter 7

"Reid, go back to the hotel and check up on Jessica." Hotch orders after they've adapted a weak profile.

When Spencer tries to protest, he stops himself, realizing he really should check up on her. He nods and stands, his joints still stiff from sleeping on the chair beside the window. His eyes flicker to the clock; noon already.

"Prentiss, go with him." Hotch says as Spencer grabs his bag.

"Yes, sir." She says respectfully. Morgan looks after them with envy, wishing he could leave the station and get some air. Bored and unsure of what to do, Morgan brings Garcia up on the screen.

"Yes, Mr. Mysterious? What can I do for you?" Garcia asks, her shiny lip gloss drawing attention to her every syllable.

Hotch gets up from the table and leaves, probably to get coffee. Rossi, probably going to bother him about Jessica being in Vegas, follows. J.J. sits across the table, sipping her coke.

"Livening the day up would help a lot, Garcia." Morgan answers, giving her a sad smile.

"Derek Morgan, that I can do." Garcia says, her eyebrows raising to whatever her screen is showing.

"You got something?" J.J. asks, sitting up straight.

"Not for the case…but Hotch asked me to keep an eye on Nathalie's credit card…" Garcia says.

"I thought Reid took the credit card away from Jessica?" Morgan presses.

"The one with the credit card just made an interesting purchase… One I really don't think our G-man made."

When Spencer and Emily get to the hotel room's door, Spencer looks in his wallet for the card.

Something in the back of his mind bugs him, but he doesn't understand what. He slides his card and the door unlocks.

"Jess?" Spencer calls as they head in.

He looks around at the empty room, refusing to believe she was gone.

"I'll go ask the clerk if they saw her go." Emily says, hurrying out.

Spencer looks around, noticing every small detail, as if it was a crime scene. The bed spread was made, but had indentation marks as if someone had laid there recently. The trash can was full of crumpled up paper. He walks over curiously, remembering that he threw his paper from the night before in the bathroom's trash, not the bedroom's.

As he picks up the papers, his blood freezes. The first paper contained numbers; the same numbers that had been haunting him for the past day and a half. He picks up another ball of paper and spreads it out. This time, there are words. The alphabet is at the top, written backwards, including periods, exclamation points, question marks, and apostrophes.

"Reid, no one saw her leave." Prentiss says, slightly out of breath.

"She figured out the code." Spencer says.

"What?" Emily asks, not comprehending why Spencer wasn't freaking out.

"She figured out the code!" He says, a frown on his face. "How didn't I get it?"

"What do they say, Reid?"

"The first one says 'She deserved what was coming.' The other says 'She took away my life as well as his.'"

"Alright, let's focus on Jessica. Where could she be?" Emily asks, looking around. Nothing looks out of place, but she wouldn't know; it isn't her room.

"The credit card." Spencer says suddenly, understanding why his head had set off alarms. Pulling out his wallet, he sees the credit card is gone and the room's card had been in the wrong spot. "Jessica took it."

"What would she need a credit card for?" Emily asks. Spencer looks at everything in the room carefully, trying to see something out of the ordinary.

He walks into the bathroom and notices the tissue box that was full earlier, is now empty. The trash can is filled with tissues, along with something else sticking out of it. Carefully, he pulls the box out of the trash.

Shock hits Spencer hard and fast. He chokes and drops the box.

"Reid?" Emily asks from behind him. "Reid?!" She says, noticing his pale face.

Without saying a word, he points to the box on the floor.

"A pregnancy test?" Emily says, her mouth popping open. "Where's the test stick?" She asks. They both look around, coming up with nothing.

"I'll call Nathalie." Spencer says, his voice still a little choked. Emily nods, watching him walk out. Emily pulls out her phone to call Hotch. Right before she dials, her phone buzzes.

"Hello?" Prentiss answers.

"Garcia says there was a pregnancy test purchased on Nathalie's credit card that Jessica stole. Is she at the hotel?" Hotch asks.

"No, we found the box, but no Jess or testing stick."

"Hold on a minute." Hotch says. Emily can hear Morgan's voice in the background, urgent.

"There has been another murder. You and Reid, look for Jessica, we'll investigate." Hotch says.

As soon as she hangs up, she walks back into the room. Spencer is staring down at the ground, his knuckles are white from squeezing the cell phone tight.

"Did you call Nathalie?" Emily asks, concerned.

"I can't." He says, putting it back in his pocket. "What did Hotch say?"

"There was another murder. He said we should find Jess while they check it out." Emily says, heading for the door.

They exit the hotel, it's beauty not having any effect on either of them.

"Where would Jessica go?" Emily asks as Spencer takes the driver's seat.

"This is Vegas. She could be anywhere." He says, starting the car.

The two of them drive for a few hours, looking at people on the street. "Call Garcia, ask if there are… clinics around." Spencer says, uncomfortably.

Hotchner, Morgan, and Rossi look around the fresh crime scene, desperately looking for answers. Rossi's mood still hasn't improved, especially when he found out that Jessica had left her room.

"How long is the new note?" Morgan asks.

"If it's words, it makes about ten words." Hotch says.

"The new victim, how old was she?" Rossi asks, staring down at the pool of blood where the body was found.

"She was twenty-one." Hotch says, the disgust in his voice evident.

Morgan takes a breath and shakes his head. Rossi stays unemotional, but looks away from the blood.

"She's not giving anything up." Morgan says hopelessly.

At that moment, Hotchner's cell phone rings. He flips it open, needing good news.

"Garcia?" He asks.

"I found something on Courtney Madison." She says. "I found a marriage license."

"We know she was married to Ethan." Hotch says, a little irritated.

"No, to someone else. They got married two days before the killings started." Garcia rushes. She felt like she was on top of the world, knowing something helpful.

"Who?"

"His name is Officer Tyler Roth. Unlike Courtney, he is all over the system. Arrested for minor charges, but still on the police force. He's had some custody issues over his son, but seems normal. Last wife died in an arson fire. He lives in Vegas." She answers. "His address was sent to your phone."

"Thank you, Garcia."

"The clever Penelope Garcia is ready for anything, sir." She says with a smirk.


	8. Chapter 8

After checking four local clinics, Spencer and Emily head back to the hotel. When they get to the room, they hear noises from inside. They both pull their guns out of their holsters as Spencer slides his card in the door.

On the bed is Jessica, whose sobbing.

They put their guns back and Spencer hurries over to the bed.

"Jessica?" He says gently.

"Please don't hate me, Spencer." She cries, her face still buried in a pillow. It feels like the state she's in is confirmation enough as to what the result of the test was. He feels himself go pale and rage attempts to settle. But it's obvious how much it's hurting her, and getting upset won't change the facts of the moment.

"I could never hate you, Jessica." Spencer says.

"I couldn't look." She cries into the pillow.

"What?" He asks.

She lifts her face from the pillow and looks at the floor. "I couldn't look at the test. I just couldn't. I threw it in a trash can."

"Where did you go, Jess?" Emily asks softly as she comes closer.

"I took a walk around the strip. I threw away the test in a trash can outside and came back. I should have just looked." Jess cries. "I'm really sorry, Spencer. For stealing your card, and e-everything." When the tears made it too difficult for her to talk, she wipes her eyes on her sleeve.

"Were you raped?" Emily asks. Spencer's head snaps to look at Emily, a look of bewilderment in his eyes.

"I snuck out. When I got home the next morning, I couldn't tell you what happened." Jessica cries, nodding at Spencer, eyes wide and searching for forgiveness. "I shouldn't have left that night in the first place."

"Who?" He asks, his voice tight. Ethan had trusted him to look after his daughter… yet, he had failed. She has been traumatized beyond belief and it's no one's fault but her god fathers.

Jessica shakes her head profusely.

"Okay." Spencer says, wrapping an arm around Jessica's shoulder. "Shh, it's okay."

"How long ago?" Emily pushes. Spencer sends her a warning look, but she ignores it.

"Two weeks." the young girl says.

"Jessica?" Emily says, kneeling in front of her. "I'm going to go buy a pregnancy test. Reid is going to stay with you until I get back. Then, we have to know, okay?"

"Okay." Jessica answers, laying back down.

Spencer follows Emily to the door and walks out to the hallway with her. Unsure of what else to do, Emily hugs him.

"It'll be alright." She says.

"What do I say to Nathalie?" He whispers, sounding so broken that Emily has to force herself not to pity him.

"Nothing until you know for sure." Emily says firmly. "I'll be right back. Make Jessica calm down."

"Thank you, Emily." Spencer says with a small smile.

"Your welcome, Reid."

Hotch looks up at the house in front of him. Rossi goes around back as he goes up to the door and knocks. The neighborhood is full of rich people and all the houses are big.

"Tyler Roth? FBI, open up." Hotch calls. The door opens after a moment, revealing a short, bald man.

"Can I help you, sir?" He asks.

"I need to know where your wife is." As he talks, Hotch watches Roth's every move and expression. He seems genuinely surprised.

"My wife? She's out."

"Where?"

"I'm not sure, she just said she was going out." Now, Roth seemed a little flustered. Hotch raises an eyebrow at the mans nervousness.

"Would you mind coming down to the station with me? I have a few questions I'd like to ask you." Hotch tries to keep his voice pleasant and unsuspecting, but Roth sees Agent Hotchner's tightness.

"I don't see why I need to go all the way down to the station. Please, come in."

With a sigh, Hotch signals Rossi to come with him. Roth doesn't seem at all surprised when Rossi comes around the house and comes inside.

"Are you aware of how your wife's late husband died?" Rossi asks. Roth frowns and shrugs.

"Nah, she never mentioned an ex husband."

"You don't seem shocked though." Hotch says suspiciously.

"What is this all about?" Roth asks. Rossi and Hotch wonder why it has taken him so long to ask.

"We wanted to see how your wife is cooping." Hotch answers. His eyes wonder around the room, noticing how no family portraits or personalized decorations are on display.

"She's fine, thank you." Roth answers tightly.

"When your wife gets home, please let us know." Rossi says, standing. Hotch follows along, understanding that they're getting no where with this man.

"We have nothing to tie Courtney to the crimes anyway." Rossi mumbles as they get in the vehicle. As Hotch starts the car, he gets a call.  
"Hotch, we found Jessica. She might be pregnant, I'll be in after we know for sure. I'm going to drop off the last two notes, Jessica managed to translate them. I'll take the last note over and let you know." Prentiss rushes. She sound flustered, which is unlike Prentiss.

"Alright." Hotch says with a sigh. "Where was she?"

"We went back to the hotel after looking everywhere; she had gone back after a while." Prentiss says. "Anything new in the case?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with. I need you to get the newest note translated and help Reid in anyway you can."

As he snaps his phone shut, he looks over at Rossi.

"Nothing good?" Rossi guesses.

"Jessica might be pregnant." Hotch says.

"I was right." Rossi says with a sarcastic laugh.

"Yeah, Dave, you were." Hotch says, starting up the vehicle. "But Jessica figured out the code."

"Hurrah." Rossi says sincerely. "This might be the break we needed."

Spencer sits on the bed, waiting impatiently. What does he tell Nathalie if it's positive? His eyes flicker towards the bathroom door yet again.

"Chill, Reid." Prentiss says. She's sitting on the chair next to the window, waiting calmly. But of course, this outcome won't forever effect _her _life.

Jessica comes out, the stick in her hand.

"About another minute." She says; pacing. After a few seconds, she stops and looks down. She repeats this cycle over and over again until Spencer couldn't watch. He hears Jessica gasp and she goes in the bathroom. He hears the door lock and the sink run.

'It's positive,' Spencer thinks sadly. He runs a hand through his hair, frustrated. Why did any of this have to happen to Jessica? Why couldn't he stop it from happening?

Jess comes out, tears on her face. She gives a small smile.

"It was negative." She says quietly. His mind stops rambling and just blanks for a moment. It's the most peace he's ever felt in a long, long time.

"Why are you crying?" Prentiss asks confused.

"I was sure it was positive…" Jess says, a hand going to her stomach. "It's a shock."

Spencer walks over to her and wraps her in a big hug. He kisses her hair, so relieved.

Jessica sobs into Spencer's chest, the day being too hard for her to handle.

"Come on, get some rest." Spencer says, leading her over to the bed. Prentiss hands Spencer the last note and he copies the translation on a separate sheet of paper.

"Stay and relax, Reid. You both need it." Prentiss tells him in a quiet voice so she doesn't bother Jessica.

"Thank you, Emily." Spencer says, a smile on his face. "How mad do you think Hotch is going to be?"

"Don't worry about Hotch. I think you're going to have to worry about Rossi." Emily says, trying to lighten Spencer's heavy heart.

Could the day get anymore stressful?


	9. Chapter 9

"I think we need to find Courtney Roth." Hotchner says, looking at the code translations. "These murders were caused by someone whose been hurt by Shelby Scott, someone who believed she had it all wrong."

"But the fact that the UnSub is killing women suggests male." Rossi says. "What's leading you to Courtney? Maybe it's a transvestite."

Hotch shakes his head. "Let's just find Courtney. I think Reid was right and the UnSub is attacking women who remind her of the woman who killed her husband."

"Garcia is on line two." J.J. says, bursting into the room with Emily. They take a seat at the table, Morgan trailing behind as they take the call.

"Okay, I think I've found something." Garcia says.

"What is it baby girl?" Morgan asks, leaning on the table. "Please tell me its something helpful."

"I think it may be. Tyler Roth, Courtney's husband, just made a call. I traced the recipient to be outside of a building that is used for addiction support groups. Courtney used to be a total junkie, right? It's also just so happens to be near The Paris hotel, where you guys are staying."

"She could just be at a meeting." J.J. says.

"The meeting ended two hours ago." Garcia answers.

"Let's go. Thank you, Garcia." Hotch says. As they hang up and head out, they're surprised by Spencer coming through the doors. He's alone, which makes everyone panic.

"Where's Jessica?" Rossi asks.

"The hotel, asleep. I couldn't just leave you guys." Spencer says, not understanding their panic.

"You have to call and wake her up." Hotch says. "Let's get there, fast."

"What's going on?" Spencer asks, reaching for his phone.

"Courtney is near the hotel, we think she's the UnSub." Rossi explains.

"She can't be." Spencer says, shaking his head.

"The notes, Reid. 'She took my life away along with his' and 'She broke my family' and 'She deserved what was coming. Think about it. 'Family,' Ethan was the only victim with kids, and Courtney's life was flipped upside down." Hotch reasons.

Blinking in disbelief, he dials Jessica's phone. No answer.

He tries the room's number, but no answer.

"She's probably just asleep." Spencer says, his voice weak.

The others hurry out. Prentiss takes a minute and makes him look at her.

"This is not your fault." She says firmly, then leads him out to the vehicles.

When they get to the hotel, Hotch shows the clerk a picture of Courtney that Garcia sent him on his phone.

"Yeah, the girl who is with him," the clerk says, pointing to Spencer, "met her down here and went back upstairs."

Everyone rushes to the elevators, Hotch barking orders.

"Morgan, Reid, and I will take the front. J.J., stay and watch who gets off the elevators, Prentiss, take one end of the hallway, Rossi, take the other end."

Everyone splits up, assuming positions. Spencer swipes his card and opens the door, his gun out of it's holster.

"Spencer?" Jessica's voice calls, wavering. Spencer hurries in the room, scared of what he'll find.

In the center of the room, Jessica is sitting in a chair, a gun pointed to her head. The person holding the gun is Tyler Roth.

A bang sounds and Spencer falls to the ground, confused of what happened. Hotch and Morgan enter the room behind him, shielding him from the unseen force.

Courtney walks out of the bathroom where the door had been ajar.

"Sorry about that, Spence." She says with a laugh, waving her gun.

Spencer looks down at himself, understanding what happened. Courtney actually shot him! The blood seeping out of the hole in his shirt, right above the elbow, proved that.

"Why?" He asks.

"You didn't honestly think I've forgotten that you took my kids away?" Courtney scoffs. Spencer has no answer, so he looks in Jessica's direction instead.

"Spencer, please don't let him kill me." She pleads. Tyler Roth is nervous, staring at Hotch and Morgan.

"Put the gun down, Mr. Roth." Hotch says.

He doesn't respond, but looks to Courtney, as if for an order.

"She can only drag you down if you let her." Spencer says, putting pressure on his wound.

Mr. Roth looks at Spencer, his total focus on his words.

"Mr. Roth, you didn't do anything wrong. Courtney killed those women. Not you. If you put the gun down, you won't be charged for murder. These are her issues, not yours." Spencer babbles quickly, the pain in his arm now making its presence know.

Slowly but thankfully, he lowers the gun and puts it on the floor.

"TYLER!" Courtney yells, her gun pointing at Morgan. "How could you?"

"I'm not doing any more. You made me shoot them, that was enough. She's just a little girl!" Mr. Roth says, his eyes watering.

"She's no better than _HER_!" Courtney says angered, comparing her daughter to Shelby Scott.

When Mr. Roth doesn't answer, Courtney loses it.

She points her gun towards her own daughter and a gun goes off. Spencer watches in pain as Courtney falls to the floor.

"Mom!" Jessica cries, in both horror and fright.

Morgan grabs Mr. Roth and puts him in handcuffs as Hotch picks up Courtney's gun and checks for a pulse. He then heads to Jessica and takes her out of the room. Prentiss and Rossi come in the room and help Spencer to his feet.

"Paramedics are on their way." Emily says, eyeing the wound. "Thankfully, it only grazed you."

"Spencer?" Jessica says, running over to him in the lobby. He wraps his good arm around her and hugs her tight.

"I'm sorry I came to Vegas." She cries.

"None of this is your fault." He tells her.

"Then whose fault is it?"

"Shelby Scott's. The moment she pulled that trigger and killed you dad, she sent your mom down that path. You didn't effect any of this." He says.

"Can we call Nathalie?" Jessica asks.

"Yeah, calling Nathalie is a good idea." Spencer says, handing her his phone. He reapplies pressure on his arm as they wait for the paramedics.

Finally, case closed.


	10. Chapter 10

"Baby, I was born ready." Garcia says. Morgan and Garcia have been chatting the whole plane ride, much to everyone's annoyance.

"Is it always like this?" Jessica asks, eyeing Morgan on the computer.

"Nope. Usually, it's worse." J.J. jokes. Spencer plays chess against Emily, easily winning. Jessica is totally bored, just waiting for the plane to land.

Hotch and Rossi talk quietly in the back corner, as usual. Jessica's phone goes off, causing all of them to glance at her.

"Sorry." She says before flipping it open.

Everyone on the plane can hear someone shrieking on the other end. Jessica flinches and hands the phone to Spencer.

"Hello?" He asks confused.

"I just got a deal to go on TOUR!" Nathalie squeals.

"Tour?" Spencer says, going numb. "How long?"

"A full year! Do you know how much I've wanted this, Spence?" She says. His wife is close to tears, and for the first time in a long time, they're tears of pure joy. Something has gone right for her. This has nothing to do with her husband's or kids' success, just her own. "I didn't even think this would be possible."

"Yeah, I know. Just…how do I take care of Jamie and Jess without you?" He questions, looking over at Jessica. Immediately, he wants to take it back. How selfish would it be to not let her go?

"It's not going to be easy, but we can do it, right?" She asks, confidence and enthusiasm wavering.

"Yeah, we can." He says. So many things run through his mind, but he cancels them all out. So what if he's going to be away for work? Jess learned a lot from recent events. Therapy can help her more than his words can, and Jamie isn't a bad kind of kid. If touring is really Nathalie's dream, he's not going to just take that away. If he has his dream job, why can't Nat have her's?

"Spence?" Jess says nervously. "Is everything okay?"

He shuts the phone and hands it back.

"Everything's great." He answers. He looks back to the chess board between himself and Emily. "Check mate." He moves his piece and Emily sighs.

Life can never be easy, it seems.


End file.
